“An utter, abject defeat”: Norman Griffiths Oval left in construction limbo after contract termination

After years of delays and budget blow-outs, Ku-ring-gai council has terminated its multi-million dollar contract for the reconstruction of Norman Griffiths Oval in Pymble. 

Construction began on the site in March 2023. The upgrade, according to the council, would include an all-weather synthetic surface, new lighting and pathways, an electronic scoreboard and an improved drainage system. According to Northern Suburbs Football Association, an investor in the project, the upgrade was expected to be completed by November 2023. 

Since then, the contractor, One Turf, and Ku-ring-gai council have both pointed the finger at each other. 

One Turf Construction manager Michael Fitzpatrick has expressed the company's desire to pursue legal action against the council, which he regarded as “the most difficult council I’ve ever dealt with”. Ku-ring-gai council, on the other hand, claims the contract was terminated after the contractor failed to comply with a show cause notice regarding recent budget increases. 

Councillor Mathew Devlin took to facebook to claim the council had “acted decisively to protect public funds” by terminating the “troubled contract”.

The synthetic pitch and drainage system were the most significant upgrades. The oval, according to president of West Pymble FC Kieron FitzPatrick, suffered from its geographical location within a low-lying area that easily floods. 

“The pitch just degrades to be almost unplayable” he told us. “It's just a mud pit.” 

The council update released on Tuesday May 20 states that the project “has been plagued by complications and over-runs.”  

The delays, detailed in previous council reports, have been due to a combination of wet weather, unfavourable ground conditions, and asbestos contamination. The site also suffered from environmental issues early last year, when pollution from the site spilled into Lane Cove National Park. 

Now, the future of the oval remains uncertain. 

Council has claimed it will be looking to complete the project in a cost effective manner, while also stating its intention to “look into the design, cost and time required to build a natural turf field in comparison to the completion of a synthetic field”. 

West Pymble FC, who claim Norman Griffith Oval as their home ground, has contributed approximately $1 million dollars of funding to the project. President Kieron Fitzpatrick said given this funding was put forward partly on the basis of the pitch being upgraded to synthetic turf, if council decided on a return to natural turf, the club would “need to explore what our position is”.

Seemingly nobody is happy with the present outcome. 

“We see it as an utter, abject defeat,”  Fitzpatrick said. “For the sporting community, it's an utter defeat.”

The home ground of West Pymble Football Club is now sitting in limbo, with neither a natural field nor the promised synthetic turf. Construction company Turf One has had their contract terminated and has expressed that legal action against the council is likely. The North Shore Football Association, already running on a vast undersupply of sporting fields, has been left with one less oval to host games. And locals have found pollution from the construction site overflowing into Lane Cove National Park. 

Most of all, ratepayers, some of whom protested initial plans to install synthetic turf, have seen more than $5 million go towards this park. For now, it remains an abandoned construction site.

The North Shore Lorikeet has contacted One Turf for comment and will update this story should we hear back.

Image Credit: Ku-ring-gai Council, Kieron Fitzpatrick